Charoux’s Next-Generation Spywear, Results & Comments

Prototype equipment is a harsh mistress, as, according to Pakkrat, is Boodle Capitulum. Regardless, here are the results of my tinkerings. Please comment constructively, particularly on my application or misapplication of the rules.


Items will remain in Bold until approved by both GMs. Items in Italics are approved.

Design Target: Darrian Compact & Hardened Holoprojector Wristwatch TL15

Initial:
Darrian Compact & Hardened Wrist-pod Holoprojector TL13
Mass: (Officially negligible due to omission?) * 0.2
Volume: (Officially “Toaster Sized”) * 0.2
Base Unit Cost: 10000 * 2 = 20000

Upgrade to TL15 rolling for Bulk Only: Rolled 13 for a value of 50% as per Table on p.14 of CSC

Final:
Darrian Compact & Hardened Holoprojector Wristwatch TL15
Mass: (Officially negligible due to omission?) * 0.2
Volume: (Officially “Toaster Sized”) * 0.2 * 50% (Still a little big; mulligan?)
Base Unit Cost: 20000
Prototype Cost: 20000 * 3d6 * 5 = 1100000
Jewelry Finish (“Important Executive” Wristwatch): 1000
Jewelry Finish (“Just a Typical Darrian Blending In” Wristwatch): 1000
Jewelry Finish (“Battle-Ready” Wristwatch): 1000
Jewelry Finish (“Vintage ‘Fruity Granules’ Cereal Box Prize” Wristwatch): 50
Camouflage ("Just a Watch": -2DM to identify it as a Holoprojector): 20
Total: 1102070

Change Notes:
Now with extra wrist-straps!
Now with a -2DM to identify it as a Holoprojector!

Build Notes:
Came out a little bulky according to the math. It could be easily argued that the book provided size and weight descriptions are vague, and thus, any result could be appropriate or inappropriate. I’m inclined to think “wristwatch size” is acceptable. I used a comparison between Darrian and Imperial computers to determine the modifiers attributable to “Darrian Compact & Hardened”, rather than the values applicable to sensors from the Vehicles book (which is the only official definition for those things outside of ship computers); I can only say that, since the Darrian book doesn’t follow Mongoose’s own rules on the matter, there’s grounds for some wiggle-room. I’m going to assume “detaches from strap”, “wireless”, and “field serviceable” are features of the unit. I’m also going to assume there’s somewhere on my Darrian Guard Armor’s arm where I can tuck it so I can use it, but so that it (or my arm) won’t get irradiated.

With regards to cost, that’s typical prototyping cost for you. There could be an argument that Boodle will sell off the “timepiece only” version of the design to some fashion houses without the detachability, field-serviceability, or wireless, for the sake of gaining some additional profit, as well as allowing the Spy Gear version to blend in better in public.

While Boodle will not sell the prototype, she can sell the first-run model.  Next, for an increase in price, she can sell a 'unique' model.  Finally, Boodle will want to haggle over the time-energy-cost and the "special attentions" given to Charoux for setting aside her other projects, prototypes and plans.  But for what I see, this piece of equipment is approvable once Charoux plunks down them credits.  The model can be delivered in a shiny tungsten ceramic jewelry box on the final day the Ares is in Highport dock.  Of course Charoux will have to sign for it.  And no "Tad Wellington", Boodle-cakes.

Are you trying to say she wants to negotiate up from the Base Cost, rather than the Prototyping Cost? For clarification, the Prototype Cost is the actual “funds & resources” cost to do the actual prototyping, according to CSC; she should technically be negotiating up from that price, even for the second, properly refined and finished one. The Base Cost is only the “mass-produced” cost, which is much cheaper.
I think “unique” would technically fall under “Jewelry Finish” as pure flavor-text; an up-scale model plain-finish watch goes for 1000, and a “Jewelry Finish” one goes for 2000; with “Jewelry Finish” I subtracted the watch and substituted the watch-sized device, leaving only the cost of the finish. If she wants to negotiate up the cost of that, well, O.K. then.
Regardless, Charoux is trying to blend-in, not be easily noticed. He wants a version that looks like whichever one will likely be more mass-produced... but that’s more of a “market conditions” gamble than anything else.

In general, Charoux would not allow “Tad Wellington” to be caught anywhere near the Ares, except for those rare occasions where there’s a sizeable crowd to blend into. The paper trail typically leads well far away, at some apartment he keeps for the sake of having a paper trail (I’ve never had sufficient reason to figure out where).

Maybe we’ll treat the prototype cost like an investment, and Charoux and Boodle can “see how it does on the market”, according to this release schedule:

Release 1: Just a holoprojecting watch (customizable holograms & finish to order), 2 years
Release 2: Now with wireless Computer Interface!, 2 years
Release 3: Now a full smartwatch! Special Arm edition available exclusively to Special Arm members, and wherever bribes and stolen goods are accepted!

Charoux can get paid yearly on account of his investment.

Spies-R-Us Jewelry now taking investments.  Shares starting at 10,000Cr, dividends annually until they climb over 1MCr.

Hm. Send their financial prospectus over to Sebastien. He might take a piece of that action ;)

No, Boodle's going to sell the design to a fairly typical tech-fashion manufacturer, with a pledge from them to distribute at least so many units, and let the market decide success from there. Additional releases will be negotiated separately, but if the company that produced the previous release wants to keep producing the next release, they'll get a discount. The "Special Arm" release will also be negotiated separately, with Boodle's previous assistant.

Also, Charoux isn't about to let the paper-trail for this get tied to Artemis Group, so he will be sending Sebastien nothing. What Sebastien finds out on his own, of course, Charoux can't do anything about. XD

I am curious about the power source in the watch as holos eat a lot of energy. Is there a number of uses for the holo, is there a risk of explosion, etc...

The holographic display on the watch is meant to be “watch-dial sized” most of the time, and the spy version pops up to full-size now and then, but not with any sort of “always on” use. It can be detached and left on the ground as a distraction.

Darrian tech tends to be very power-efficient, but they also tend to have very robust power supplies. And Darrian tech is all optical based anyway, so there may be less power lost due to not having to convert from electrical to optical. It’s a fair question, Bob, and thank you for asking. I figure if you left it full-bore for an hour, it would take two or so hours to recharge, maintaining its “watch” level of functionality in the meantime; a smart agent might deliberately drain the power that way to convince particularly snoopy people that it doesn’t do anything else; but I’m certainly open to putting a reasonable limitation on it.

Bob, to answer your question in a manner consistent with Mongoose's system, Mongoose really doesn't have anything representing "power supplies" "batteries" or "cells" on the gadget scale; as such, I cannot consider what it would take to shrink the Power Supply separately. The closest things are probably Laser Pistol Cartridges or Vehicle Power Supplies, but those probably don't scale properly for other reasons. I suppose I am assuming that if the gadget itself can be shrunk, the required power supply is shrunk with it; rules-wise, I'm not sure there's a compelling argument against that assumption.

It should be noted that one of the few current practical applications of fusion, albeit without the required "energy profit" to make it a viable power source, and made entirely by accident, was a vacuum tube developed by Philo T. Farnsworth in his efforts to develop the original CRT Television. If Fusion can take place on the scale of a lightbulb, there's a darn good chance that it can be shrunk from there; where the over-unity power production scaling limits lie, of course, are currently unknown. Modern versions of his revised "Farnsworth Fusor" are used as neutron sources in experiments... and by crackpots trying to develop viable fusion technology in their own back yard.

Brandon, don't go trying to build a fusion generator in the back yard; Neutrons are very very bad for you.


The real wonky part of a holoprojector is the hologram itself; it's pure science-fiction. Without some medium to paint a hologram on, there's no comparison in modern technology, and no practical energy requirement beyond, "Well, any cheap string of LED lightbulbs can light up everything in a box that size pretty good.".

"The real wonky part of a holoprojector is the hologram itself; it's pure science-fiction. Without some medium to paint a hologram on, there's no comparison in modern technology, and no practical energy requirement beyond, "Well, any cheap string of LED lightbulbs can light up everything in a box that size pretty good."

I think sometimes you have to wave a hand at anything above TL 9 and take it as something that's way above our understanding. Trying to figure sci-fi stuff out with our current understanding is like a caveman trying to understand how an Iphone works. 

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." (Clarke's third law)

Do holo projectors actually use a lot of energy in Traveller? I mean, pumping out enough light energy to do damage to living tissue would take a lot of energy, but you can store the required energy to do that in a smallish battery.  

I'm with Alby, as long as it's not wildly out of proportion to other technologies in the campaign, and with the understanding that it'll cost ya...

Bob wanted the actual Database list... so here it is.

Note: Titles may be humorous.



Databases:


Admin:
Regulations for All Occasions: How to Obey with Style
Papers?!?!?! Please!!! A Guide to the Minutest Details of Official Documents
For Profit & Purpose: Corporations & Organizations of Charted Space
The Quest For Knowledge: An Uncompromising Guide to Learning From the Best in Charted Space


Carousing:
Bebop & Barkeeping: Keeping the Party Hardy
Shenanigans Ho! A Book of Goofs and Gags of Brobdingnagian Proportions!
The Glass Art: A Fountain of Flavorful Beverages
Dining with Sophonts: How to Make Breaking Bread a Mutually Comfortable Occasion
Holidays, Festivals, and Traditions: Celebrations & Consecrations


Communications:
Warbling Over the Wavelengths: The Communications Technologies, Frequencies, & Regulations of Intelligent Life


Computers:
Endians and Bases: Computing Like a Native in Foreign Computer Architectures
Computer Security Across Charted Space


Deception:
Mastering Manipulation: A Hiver's Guide to the Art of Social Engineering


Diplomacy:
Policy, Politics, & Motivations of the Major & Minor Races & Their Cultures
For Profit & Purpose: Corporations & Organizations of Charted Space
Visions of Grandeur: The Ultimate Guide to Comparative Religion
Dossiers of the Influential, Powerful, & Wealthy


Engineering:

Electronics:
Ohmega Electronica: A Library of Foundational Circuits
Mischievous, Devious, and Rogue Applications of Technology

Mechanical:
Goldberg's Guide to Solving Problems Mechanically


Explosives:
It Goes Boom: The Finer Points of Interacting With Explosive Ordinance
A Thousand Points of Failure: Bush’s Guide to Safe & Cost-Effective Demolitions
Bomb-Fu: Channeling the Chi of Explosives for Maximum Effect


Forgery:
Papers?!?!?! ''Please!!!'' A Guide to the Minutest Details of Official Documents


Investigation:
The Suit Makes the Mook: A Guide to Identifying Personnel
The Decorated Temple: Traditions in Body Art
Feng Shuiing the Hive: The Application of Interior Decorating Traditions to Modern Life
Raising a Little Hell: What Weapons to Use When You Aim to Misbehave
“Hot” Rides: The Top Vehicles Preferred by the Criminal Element


Recon:
The Suit Makes the Mook: A Guide to Identifying Personnel
The Decorated Temple: Traditions in Body Art
The Way of the Appendage: Traditional Martial Artistry for Any Combat
Chewed Cud and Thundering Hooves: Domesticated Animals and the Sophonts That Raise Them
Janeway's Guides: Weaponry, Robots, Land Vehicles, Sea Vehicles, Air Vehicles, Subterranean Vehicles, Satellites, Spacecraft, Ordinance
Hunkering Down: Defensive Fortifications From Fox-Holes to Nuclear Bunkers
Feng Shuiing the Hive: The Application of Interior Decorating Traditions to Modern Life


Physical Sciences:

Physics:
From Newton's Apple to Potato Cannons: An Overview of Applied Physics
Half-Way to Anywhere on Fumes: The Fuel-Constrained Gravitational Kinematics of the Ancient Space Heroes
Punching Through the Universe: Jump Physics Demystified

Chemistry:
The Chemistry of Every-Day Chemicals & Materials
Better Problem-Solving Through Chemistry
Matter Matters Matter: Finding the Right Material for the Job


Space Sciences:

Robotics:
Robolympia: The Review Media of Record for Competition-Grade Parts
Aspiring to Laziness: Assembling Robots for Practical Applications
Boop: The Leading Journal of Breakthroughs in Robotics

Xenology:
Alien Species: Characteristics, Identification, & Behavior
The Space-Man Has an Owie: The Treatment of Alien Boo-Boos & Bedside Manner
Anatomy of the Greys: The 51 Areas of Examination in Anatomical Diversity


Sensors:
Janeway's Guides: Weaponry, Robots, Land Vehicles, Sea Vehicles, Air Vehicles, Subterranean Vehicles, Satellites, Spacecraft, Ordinance
The Big Dumb Book of Big Dumb Space Objects: The Mysterious Stuff in Space Too Mysterious to Bother With


Steward:
A Wanderer's Guide to Improvised Darrian Cuisine
Starside Staples: A Guide to Shipboard Cheffing
The Glass Art: A Fountain of Flavorful Beverages
Dining with Sophonts: How to Make Breaking Bread a Mutually Comfortable Occasion
Holidays, Festivals, and Traditions: Celebrations & Consecrations
Dossiers of the Influential, Powerful, & Wealthy


Survival:
Eat This, Not That: A Survivalist's Guide to the Edibility of Flora & Fauna
Fight or Flight? A Safety Primer on Animal Behavior
Maslow Was Here: The Hierarchy of Needs ''Gone Wild''
Engineered for Survival: A Structural Analysis Comparison of Emergency Shelter Designs Made From Natural Materials


Trades:

Civil Engineering:
The Fabrication of Meritorious Architectures: The Construction of the Buildings Most Useful to Civilized Sophonts

Space Construction:
Still in Orbit: Tried and True Module Designs & Common Variations


Other:
Boodle Capitulum's Personally Curated Collection of Spy Fiction

The Big Dumb Book of Big Dumb Space Objects: The Mysterious Stuff in Space Too Mysterious to Bother With
(a.k.a. The really annoying Red Book That Won't Fit On A Shelf) -Dade "Hackers"

Design Target: Boodle’s Stealth-Stash Attaché Case

Initial: Auto-Destruct Security Attaché Case TL7
Armor: 3
Mass: (Officially negligible due to omission?)
Volume: (Officially “Attaché Case Sized”)
Base Unit Cost: 500

(I really aught to upgrade the lock, too...)
Upgrade Auto-Destruct Security Attaché Case TL7 to TL15 rolling for Armor Only: Rolled 15 and 13 for a value of 150% and 135% as per Table on p.14 of CSC, reduced to 125% and 118.5% as per rule on p.14 of CSC
Armor: 3 * 125% * 118.5% > 4

1. Base Unit Cost: 500
2. Prototype Cost: 500 * {3d6 * 5 = 80} = 40000

Replace Fragmentation Auto-Destruct TL6 with Plasma Auto-Destruct TL12:
+ 20

Apply Visilight Chameleon TL13:
+ 50000 per Armored Item

Initial: Charged Shield TL11
Mass: 3kg
Base Unit Cost: 2000

Upgrade Charged Shield TL11 to TL15 rolling for Mass Only: Rolled 14 for a value of 45% as per Table on p.14 of CSC
Mass: 3kg * 45% = 1.35kg
Base Unit Cost: 2000
Prototype Cost: 2000 * {3d6 * 5 = 20} = 40000

Apply Darrian Compact & Hardened:

1. Base Unit Cost: 2000 * 2 = 4000
2. Prototype Cost: 40000 * 2 = 80000

Initial: Grav Belt TL12
Mass: (Officially negligible due to omission?)
Volume: (Officially “Belt Sized”)
Base Unit Cost: 100000

Upgrade Grav Belt TL12 rolling for Mass Only: Rolled 9 for a value of 70% as per Table on p.14 of CSC

1. Base Unit Cost: 100000
2. Prototype Cost: 100000 * {3d6 * 5 = 45} = 4500000

Apply Auto-Pilot with Intelligent Interface TL11:
+ 3000 + 100

Apply Advanced Personal Comms with Scrambler Unit TL15:
+ 1500 + 400

Initial: PRIS TL12
Mass: 1 kg
Volume: (Officially “Goggles Sized”)
Base Unit Cost: 3500

Upgrade PRIS TL12 to TL15 rolling for Mass Only: Rolled 12 for a value of 55% as per Table on p.14 of CSC
Mass: 1kg * 55% = 0.55kg
Base Unit Cost: 3500
Prototype Cost: 3500 * {3d6 * 5 = 40} = 140000

Apply Darrian Compact & Hardened:

1. Base Unit Cost: 3500 * 2 = 7000
2. Prototype Cost: 140000 * 2 = 280000

Final: Visilight Chameleon Auto-Destruct Security Attaché Case + Auto-Piloting Grav Unit TL15 + Advanced Personal Comms with Scrambler Unit TL15 + PRIS TL15 + Charged Shield TL15
Mass: At least 2kg
Volume: (Officially “Attaché Case Sized”)
Base Unit Cost: 3964816
Prototype Cost: 3964816 * {2d6 = 6} = 23788896
Jewelry Finish (“Important Executive” Attaché Case): 75
Jewelry Finish (“Unimportant Businessman” Attaché Case): 75
Camouflage ("Just an Attaché Case": -2DM to identify it as having additional features): 20
Total: 23789066

TT/Charoux keeps asking me for complete list of Boodle Capitulum's bonuses:

+1 from Attributes
+2 from Skills needed
+1 or +2 for extra time bands taken in the task
+1 for workshop, tools, parts and components necessary
+1 for assistant(s) help with the task at hand.

Yes, thank you, Pakkrat; very helpful.

Pakkrat, Bob, please look over the design steps for the Attaché Case and the Glasses; italicize anything you approve and leave bold anything you don’t approve. When you see:

1. Base Unit Cost:
2. Prototype Unit Cost:

pick one to approve; you should pick the one that best represents how often Boodle integrates that circuit/component/material into one of her customer’s orders. Please keep in mind that the final price is still going to be rolled against a table, and then multiplied by 2d6 to determine its one-off price, which represents Boodle having had to engineer the integration of a bunch of things into one item; it’s also technically possible for Boodle to fail that roll, meaning the cost multiplier goes up by another 2d6; but I think her modifiers should be enough to prevent that. Technically, this doesn’t include her time as an engineer either...

The Attaché case is done, at least according to Pakkrat’s rulings. Please look it over for reasonableness. ^_^;